Sultan of Johor adds the royal touch at Asia Klasika

A 1957 Mercedes-Benz ‘Gullwing’, a 300SL roadster, a ’78 BMW M1 and a ‘one of a kind’ Aston Martin Lagonda were the highlights as His Royal Highness The Sultan of Johor’s car collection made a rare public appearance at Asia Klasika.

Held at the Matrade Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on 11 November, the 80-car concours attracted thousands of classic car fans and entrants from Malaysia and Singapore, plus rare machines from Europe, the USA and Japan.

This year’s show celebrated 60 years of the Mercedes-Benz SL, 50 years of the MGB and 40 years of BMW’s Motorsport division.

Asia Klasika Best of Show – and Best MGB of Show – went to Sinnasamy Maniam’s immaculately restored 1965 B (above).

New to the event was the Sultan’s Cup, the winner of which was chosen by his Royal Highness himself (second from right). A 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600, belonging to Dato’ Jaya JB Tan caught the royal eye and scooped the inaugural award.

Clubs attending included the Malaysia and Singapore Vintage Car Register (MSVCR), the MG Club Malaysia, the Asia Classic Car Challenge (ACCC) and the American Accent.

Meanwhile, entertainment was provided by the Setapak High School bagpipers.

Show curator Andrew Suresh said: "We’ve always believed in celebrating the heritage of cars and Asia Klasika provides a common platform for the car manufacturer, collector and enthusiast to congregate and cherish the design and engineering of yesteryear automobiles."